JO KONTA tried her best – but it wasn’t enough.
The world no16 had done brilliantly to become the first Brit since Jo Durie in 1983 to reach the US Open quarter-finals.
But last night she came up against a Ukrainian brick wall called Elina Svitolina who was simply far too tough to crack.
A whopping 35 unforced errors from Konta contributed to a 6-4, 6-4 win for Svitolina who becomes the first Ukranian woman to reach the last four.
Former Brit ace Tim Henman admitted: “Svitolina was the better player on the day.”
Konta’s power and poise managed to blow Karolina Pliskova off court in the last 16 but the no5 seed from Ukraine was a different kettle of fish.
Svitolina had a frustrating knack of returning everything and although the Brit had her moments in the first set, it became clear early on that reaching the last four for the first time here would be a tall order.
Konta was broken for 3-2 and although the 28 year-old hit back immediately, another loose game gave Svitolina the upper hand once again.
And it wasn’t long before the first set was in the bag to leave Konta staring down the barre in an attempt to throw the annoyingly consistent world no5 off her game.
The Brit tried to mix things and it worked a treat midway through the second set.
A lovely drop shot gave Konta a break, and some hope.
She couldn’t , however, keepthe pressure on.
Svitolina broke in the very next game – and crushed Konta’s resolve.
A brilliant backhand pass helped Svitolina break to love and although Konta battled until the end and managed to save two match points, the excellent Ukranian , who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon this summer, moved into her second successive last four clash.
Rafa Nadal, meanwhile, is now favourite for the men’s title after destroying 2014 champ Marin Cilic.
Cheered on by a pumped-up Tiger Woods, Nadal was on fire and will play Argie Diego Schwartzman tonight for a place in Friday’s semi’s.
The 18 time major winner said: “It means a lot to me to have him supporting. Tiger is an amazing inspiration.
“I hope one day we can play golf and tennis together.”
Roger Federer takes on Grigor Dmitrov later tonightwith the super Swiss looking good to meet arch-rival Nadal in Sunday's final.
Source: Read Full Article